Pamela GlassPamela Glass is the Washington, D.C., correspondent for WorkBoat. She reports on the decisions and deliberations of congressional committees and federal agencies that affect the maritime industry, including the Coast Guard, U.S. Maritime Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to coming to WorkBoat, she covered coastal, oceans and maritime industry news for 15 years for newspapers in coastal areas of Massachusetts and Michigan for Ottaway News Service, a division of the Dow Jones Company. She began her newspaper career at the New Bedford (Mass.) Standard-Times. A native of Massachusetts, she is a 1978 graduate of Wesleyan University (Conn.). She currently resides in Potomac, Md.

Walking along the Seine here in Paris might evoke romance and architectural overload, but I find myself constantly drawn to looking at what's floating on the river rather than what's around it.
Walking along the Seine here in Paris might evoke romance and architectural overload, but I find myself constantly drawn to looking at what's floating on the river rather than what's around it. What impresses me is the variety and creative uses that the French have developed for...

Delaware, a state flag of convenience.
At the crowded dock in Bodrum, Turkey, I was supposed to be looking for a 60' wooden gulet by the name of Alinda that was to take us and a few friends on a two-week cruise of southeastern Turkey.
Instead, my eyes kept being diverted to the number of yachts tied up to the pier that were flying the Stars and Stripes and sporting Delaware on their transoms.
Gee, I thought, this is exciting to see so many American boats that have made the long journey...

Beginning July 1, TWIC applicants will have to produce yet another documentation.
Passports please!
No, no, it’s not a surly airport TSA agent barking at you, but another part of that much-maligned agency that will be reviewing your application for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
Beginning July 1, TWIC applicants will have to produce yet another documentation, this one to prove that they are U.S. citizens. Before that, TWIC applicants simply...

Massachusetts will soon launch a new vanity license plate with a rendering of the Steamship Authority ferry.
There are many nautical-themed license plates out there. Maryland has “Treasure the Chesapeake, ”Rhode Island promotes the Plum Beach lighthouse, and Connecticut says it is “Home of the Amistad,” the slave ship where captives staged a famous mutiny in 1839.
Massachusetts will soon launch a new vanity plate, and it has nothing to do with the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins or...

Fracking 2.0 could be a new source of business for liquid barging.
You’ve no doubt heard about hydraulic fracking and the new business that crude oil from this process has brought to the inland barge industry. But what about fracking 2.0?
Some say this could be the next big trend in the oil patch. And if so, it could mean a new source of business for liquid barging, which has softened up of late as crude oil prices and production have dropped.
Fracking 2.0 is what...

Here's a list of the key developments that are affecting the barge industry over the past year.
While reporting on the state of the inland barge industry for the June issue of WorkBoat, I made a list of key developments affecting the industry over the past year and into 2015.
When you look it over, you realize that beyond the headlines of the crude boom, there are many other significant happenings that are affecting commercial navigation on the nation’s river...

Merchant ships that ply the busy Mediterranean shipping lanes have been on the front lines of the migrant crisis as lifesavers.
Merchant vessels rescued some 40,000 migrants from capsized or unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean Sea last year, as thousands of desperate people from North Africa and the Middle East embarked on dangerous and risky crossings to start new lives in Europe.
Merchant ships that ply the busy Mediterranean shipping lanes have been on the front lines of this...

Marad is putting the final touches on a National Maritime Strategy that will recommend ways to reverse the steady decline of the U.S. merchant fleet.
Almost two years in the making, and the bun is getting ready to come out of the oven.
On April 14, before a meeting of the Navy League, Paul “Chip”Jaenichen, administrator at the U.S. Maritime Administration, said that his agency is putting the final touches on a National Maritime Strategy that will recommend ways to reverse the steady...

Getting good sleep is tough onboard noisy vessels with demanding work hours.
Sometimes it takes a few simple things to stay alert and healthy on the job. Fatigue can lead to mistakes and accidents, as the body’s ability to react and respond are compromised. And mariners agree that getting good sleep is tough onboard noisy vessels with demanding work hours.
How about that 20-minute power nap? Cutting back the caffeine? Jumping rope on deck?
These were a few tips...

Women rise to the top on the water Women came to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., from all over the country last week to talk frankly about what life is like on the water, and how women are changing the face of the maritime industry.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room with such positive female energy. Women came to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., from all over the country last week to talk frankly about what life is like on...